Pile fabric loom



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PILE FABRIC LOOM Filed March 12, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 jr zw 7"" MIT/6% 7% United States Patent PILE FABRIC LOOM Maurice W. Worth, Glasgow, Va., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 12, 1959, Ser. No. 799,037

7 Claims. (Cl. 139-8) This invention relates to the weaving of double face pile fabrics and more particularly to the apparatus and the weaving of an Axminster type fabric having uncut pile projections and cut pile projections on the opposite side.

The current sales potential for carpeting having variations in pile effects which are not purely matters of coloring has placed heavy demands upon the designers of fabrics and on the weaving equipment. The general weaving technique and the fabrics produced on the conventional Axminster loom are well known and need not be considered in detail here. The advantages of an Axminster fabric reside in the ability to provide a different color for each individual tuft or pair of pile projections. Generally speaking, however, it has been considered impossible to vary the height of the pile projections or to provide a cut and uncut pile surface without drastic redesign of the loom and even then with only mediocre results. My co-pending application Serial No. 782,972 filed December 24, 1958, now U.S. Patent No. 2,946,350, discloses and claims a relatively simple and inexpensive modification for an Axminster loom by which it is possible to produce a cut and uncut pile surface on the same side of the fabric. However, once the loom is set up for a particular weave, no variation is possible without stopping the loom to make adjustments or substitution of parts. The present invention provides a further variation in the weaving technique of Axminster fabrics in that it produces a uniform cut pile surface on one side and a substantially uniform loop pile surface on the opposite side.

A primary object, therefore, is to provide an attachment for an Axminster loom by means of which a double face cut and uncut fabric may be produced.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wiping arm movable with the tuft tubes to control and position the pile ends dipped into the shed in such a way that the bight of each pile yarn is carried through the shed to form loop pile projections on the underside of the fabric as it is being woven.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method for weaving a double face cut and uncut Axminster fabric.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an Axminster type fabric having double filling wefts and cut pile projections on one face which extend through to the opposite face to provide loop pile projections.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in a double filling weft Axminster type fabric, U-shaped pile tufts which present an uncut pile surface on one side of the fabric extending through the ground of the fabric and between at least one pair of double wefts and thence on to the other side of the fabric to form cut pile projections.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged diagrammatic view or weave diagram of a fabric woven in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a view as seen at 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional detail showing one of the tube frames about to be removed from the crib chain by means of the clutch arms,

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 as seen at 4-4 of Fig. 5 with the clutch arms advanced to unlock the tube frame from the chain,

Fig. 5 is a view showing schematically the various weaving mechanisms of my improved Axminster loom,

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail showing parts of the dip and tip mechanism and the various actuating means therefor,

Fig. 7 is a perspective of a portion of the structure of Fig. 6,

Figs. 8-14 show the various progressive steps and relative positions of the loom parts during a weaving cycle,

Fig. 10a is an enlarged detail corresponding to a part of the showing of Fig. 10, and

Fig. 15 is an enlarged detail showing the position of the wiper bar at the end of the cycle corresponding generally to the position at the beginning of the cycle as seen in Fig. 5.

The invention comprises essentially the installation of a tuft wiping bar or element which is positively controlled to hold the ends of all the tufts up against the sides of the tuft tubes during dipping of the tuft tubes into the shed. The extent of this dipping insures that the bights of each folded back tuft extend through the warp yarns a sufiicient distance to provide an uncut pile face on the bottom of the fabric.

The fabric itself, when woven in accordance with the present invention, is characterized as a two shot Axminster fabric in which the pile projections are dipped into the shed immediately after the bottom double weft and half of the upper weft are carried forward by the weft dividers. In the finished fabric, this provides adequate tuft bind because of the offset position of the pile yarns as they pass through the ground of the fabric. This condition is shown clearly in Figure l.

The fabric, having preferred tuft bind, comprises elongated pile yarns 20, 20 which terminate uniformly on one side of the fabric in double pile projections 22, 22 and on the opposite side of the fabric in pile loops or bights 23, 23. The pile tufts 22 extend upwardly between the upper fillings 24 and 25 which comprise each double upper filling weft. The lower filling weft 26 is not split, with the result that upon heating up the second half 24 of the two double filling wefts 24 and 25, the pile ends 20 are forced warpwise in the fabric to become locked around the upper and lower wefts 24, 25 and 26. If desired, one or more stuifer warps 27 may be employed and the fabric is tied together by means of pairs of opposed chain warps 28 and 29.

The weaving of this novel Axminster fabric is accomplished by means of a wiper arm 35 which is supported on and may be formed integrally with a pair of brackets 36, 36 one of which is shown in the drawings adjustably attached to a control rod 37 by means of a collar 38 and adjusting nuts 39, 40. The yarn spools 45, which carry the individual pile yarns 20, are mounted in tube frames 46, which in turn are carried on the crib chains 47, 47 in accordance with conventional Axminster practice. At the proper time in the weaving cycle, the tube frames pause at a station corresponding generally to that shown in Fig. 6.

At this point the tube frames are detached from the chains 47 and are dipped into the shed by means of a dip and tip mechanism indicated generally at 48. This comprises a pair of clutch arms 49 having a pair of clutch arm ears 50, 50 positioned to engage the lower extremities of tube frame bracket 51 as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. The clutch arms 49 are pivoted on a post 55 and retained thereon by means of a nut 56 and Washer 57. Actuation of the clutch arms is accomplished by means of a suitable controlling or driving connection 58. It will be understood that only one side or end of the dip and tip mechanism is shown, and that the other side is an allochiral duplicate. The pivoting of clutch arms 49 on their posts 55 separates the clutch arm ears 50 a sufficient distance to permit the next tube frame 46 to move into the aligned position shown generally in Figs. 3-5. The crib chains 47 on which the tube frames are carried operate over a series of sprockets 60 which are in turn keyed to shafts 61. In this position the control rod 58 is actuated to swing the clutch arms 49 inwardly against the ends of the tube frame plates 51 and to disengage the spring loaded latch 62 which holds the tube frames on the links of chain 47. An aligning pin 63 secured to each end of tube frame plate 51 enables the tube frames to be re-attached to the chain 47 upon return to the same position by means of tube frame carrier. The clutch arms 49 are dipped under control of a dip rod 65 fastened to the dip and tip mechanism at 66. This mechanism pivots around a center 67 which is rigidly secured to the loom as in standard practice. In addition to the dipping motion around center 67, the clutch arm cars 50, 50 are journaled at 68 to impart the tipping motion. Control of the tipping is achieved by means of a lever 69 formed integrally with the ears and actuated from a cam 70, through cam follower 71 on rocker arm 72, spring loaded shaft 73, lever 74, and rod 75 pivoted at 76 which is in turn connected to the lever 69 through a universal joint 77 and a rod 78.

Vertical control of Wiper bar 35 is accomplished by means of cammed surfaces 80 on the clutch arm ear assembly. When the clutch arms converge, as shown in Fig. 4, the rods 37 are elevated onto the upper surfaces 81 of cams 80, thus wiping up the tufts around the tuft tubes as will be described more fully hereinafter. Diverging movement of the clutch arms permits the rods 37 to drop to the position shown in Fig. 3 which in turn drops the wiping bar 35 below the extremities of the tuft tubes. In one portion of the weaving cycle, it is required that the wiping bar 35 rest upon and be elevated by some of the warp yarns. To permit this movement to take place and also to enable the wiper bar to be actuated, I connect the opposite end of rod 37 to a lever 85 which in turn is journaled on shaft 86 and spring loaded at 87. A limit stop 08 controls the clockwise movement of lever 85. A link 89 slotted at 90 connects the opposite end of lever 85 to a pin 91 which in turn forms the pivotal connecting element between lever 74 and rod 75. Lever 74 is likewise provided with a spring 92 and limit stop 93 which control the turning of lever 74 around its shaft 94. A guide 95 prevents the rod 37 from undesired lateral movement when it is being elevated through contact with the warp yarns.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. and 8-14, an Axminster loom is provided with the conventional breast plate 100 over which the completed fabric F is drawn by means of suitable pin take-up rolls, not shown. The comb 101 serves to hold the fell of the fabric in position on the breast plate. The usual oscillating cutting means consists of a back knife stock 102. having the back knife 103 attached thereto and the front knife stock 104 which in turn carries the front knife 105. The chain warps 106 and 107 are controlled in the usual manner by means of harnesses 108 and 109 which together with the stuifer 110 form the warp'sheds. In the present loom, I utilize a pair of Weft inserting needles 115 and 116 which advance'simultaneously into the upper shed S 1 and the lower shed S2 respectively. When the needles are withdrawn (Fig. 8), the weft dividers 117, located at each selvage, advance to separate the 4 and tipping motion preparatory to inserting the pile yarns 20.

The dummy reed 118 now advances to beat up the double weft 26 and the single weft 25, during which operation the comb 101 retracts as do the weft dividers 117 (Fig. 9). At this point the tuft tubes 119 are dipped into and through both sheds S1 and S2 as shown in Fig. 10, thus permitting the pile yarns 20 to extend substantially through both sheds. Contact between the wiper bar 35 and the upper warps 106 of shed S 1 pushes the bar 35 upwardly as shown in Fig. 10 against the pressure of spring 87, thus wiping all of the pile yarns 20 up and against the outer rear surfaces of the tuft tubes 119. The reed 120 now advances to beat up the fourth weft 24 against the looped over pile yarns 20 as the tuft tubes withdraw upwardly and forwardly as shown in Fig. 11. Immediately prior to this withdrawal of the tuft tubes, the pile yarns 20 are held firmly in place by means of the bar 35 and the upper chain warps 106 as seen in Fig. 10a. If desired, the upper extremity of the reed may be curved as shown in Figs. 5 and 11 to provide a beat up that may be at any desired angle to the plane of the fabric. During and prior to beat-up, the harnesses 108 and 109 reverse to form the next subsequent shed as shown in Fig. 11. The tube frame 46 is retracted to its initial position in line with the crib chain 47 but in the meantime, the dummy reed 118 has been supplanted with the comb 101 which holds the pile yarns 20 in the fell of the fabric during retraction of the tube frame 46 and the consequent unwinding of more pi-le yarns from spool 45. The knives 103 and are then advanced to cut the pile projections on top of the fabric as shown in Fig. 12, whereupon the crib chain 47 advances to present the next tube frame 46a in position for a repetition of the cycle.

Particular attention is directed to Fig. 14 which shows how the pile yarns 20 which extend from the tuft tubes are wiped up and around the backs of the tuft tubes when the next tube frame 46a is brought into position. Figure 13 shows the relative position of the wiping bar 35 and the tuft tubes 119 as the tube frame 46 returns to the chain. However, as the clutch arms 49 diverge, the bar 35 drops to permit the succeeding tube frame 46 to align itself with the clutch arm ears 50 and to pass over the bar 35 because the rods 37 have'now dropped to the lower position on the clutch ear assembly.

The ability to control the height of the pile projections to provide uniform loop height on the back of the fabric is a remarkable feature of the invention and depends in part upon the pressure exerted by spring 87. Originally the loops 23 are inserted to a somewhat greater depth through the shed than the previously formed loops as shown in Fig. 10a. Upon retraction of the tuft tubes, however, not only the bights of the loops are pulled up to a uniform height, but the cut end 22 of each pile yarn is drawn upwardly to the same or a slightly higher elevation than that of the previous cut ends. In this way a minimum of waste pile yarn may be achieved.

The present invention contemplates a relatively in: expensive modification to a conventional Axminster loom whereby it is possible to provide a highly satisfactory double face Axminster type fabric which, of course,'will have a design on both sides and is, therefore, completely reversible. Unlike most reversible rugs, the present fabric provides a cut pile on one face and an uncut pile texture on the opposite face.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim:

1; In an Axminster loom'for weaving double face 'cut and uncut pile fabric, the combination which comprises a breast plate, a comb oscillating towards and away from said breast plate, a series of tube frames carrying tuft tubes filled with pile yarns, means for successively presenting said tube frames and tuft tubes to an elevated position above the edge of said .breast' plate,

means for dipping and tipping said tube frames into a warp yarn shed, a wiper bar for wiping up out ends of pile yarn along a series of said tuft tubes, actuating means for cyclically raising and lowering said wiper bar, and a reed oscillatable through the shed to beat up pile and filling yarns inserted therein.

2. In an Axminster loom for Weaving double face cut and uncut pile fabric, the combination which comprises a breast plate, a comb oscillating towards and away from said breast plate, a series of tube frames carrying tuft tubes filled with pile yarns, means for successively presenting said tube frames and tuft tubes to an elevated position above the edge of said breast plate, means for dipping and tipping said tube frames into a warp yarn shed, a wiper bar for wiping up cut ends of pile yarn along a series of said tuft tubes, actuating means for cyclically raising and lowering said wiper bar, a reed oscillatable through the shed to beat up pile and filling yarns inserted therein, and a pair of oscillating weft dividers.

3. A loom in accordance with claim 2 in which the actuating means for raising and lowering the wiper bar comprises cam surfaces on the means for dipping and tipping the tube frames.

4. A loom in accordance with claim 2 having resilient positioning means for the wiper bar which permits elevation of the bar when the tuft tubes are dipped into the shed.

5. In an Axminster loom for weaving double face cut and uncut pile fabric, the combination which comprises a breast plate, a comb oscillating towards and away from said breast plate, a series of tube frames carrying tuft tubes filled with pile yarns, means for successively presenting said tube frames and tuft tubes to an elevated position above the edge of said breast plate, means for dipping and tipping said tube frames into a warp yarn shed, a wiper bar for wiping up cut ends of pile yarns along a series of tuft tubes, actuating means for 6 simultaneously raising and lowering said wiper bar, means for inserting double filling wefts into said shed, a reed oscillatable through the shed to beat up pile and filling yarns inserted therein, and means including knives for severing the pile yarns after being beaten up by the reed.

6. In an Axminster loom for weaving double face cut and uncut pile fabric, the combination which comprises a breast plate, a comb oscillating towards and away from said breast plate, a series of tube frames carrying tuft tubes filled with pile yarns, means for successively presenting said tube frames and tuft tubes to an elevated position above the edge of said breast plate, means for dipping and tipping said tube frames into a warp yarn shed, a wiper bar for wiping up cut ends of pile yarns along a series of tuft tubes, actuating means for simultaneously raising and lowering said wiper bar, means for simultaneously inserting two double wefts into said shed, a reed oscillatable through the shed to beat up pile and filling yarns inserted therein, and means including knives for severing the pile yarns after being beaten up by the reed.

7. A loom in accordance with claim 6 having at least two oscillatable dividers for separating the double filling wefts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,927,810 Shaw et a1 Sept. 19, 1933 1,944,121 Coyle Jan. 16, 1934 1,944,534 Underwood Jan. 23, 1934 1,968,003 Shaw et a1. July 24, 1934 1,990,674 Shuttleworth Feb. 12, 1935 2,010,115 Shuttleworth Aug. 6, 1935 2,804,096 Hughes Aug. 27, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 345,384 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1931 382,943 Great Britain Oct. 31, 1932 478,249 Germany June 20, 1929 

